Sunday, March 28, 2010
The
The Belize Times
1
Belize Times The Truth Shall Make You Free
SUNDAY MARCH 28, 2010
Issue No. 4686
$1.00 www.belizetimes.bz
PUP Rejects Taxation Budget Briceno to Barrow – Lead or Leave!
The budget debate kicked off in the House of Representatives with a robust response to the proposed budget for the financial year 2001-2011. In his opening salvo the Opposition Leader John Briceño declared that this was the biggest “tax whap handed to the Belizean people since independence.” In his presentation the Party Leader broke down the budget step by step, highlighting the fact that the UDP budget falls far short of delivering on their 21 promises. From the Opposition side of the House, the message was clear – WE NOH HAPPY! The people of Belize are being forced to swallow a huge bitter pill of taxation while only paltry relief is being offered which seems more like a distraction from the painful reality than any meaningful assistance to the poor. In laying out the numbers, Deputy Party Leader Mark Espat argued that the government claims to be compassionate but makes absolutely no apology for
BCCI Reacts to Barrow’s Bogus Budget
The Chamber of Commerce has come out swinging at the budget presented by the Prime Minister of Belize, entitled for some unsubstantiated reason ‘Recovery Today…Prosperity Tomorrow!’ Belizeans have speculated that based on the fact that the budget is all about increased taxation and not much else, it should be more aptly named – ‘Pay Today…Poorer Tomorrow!’ While the Chamber did not openly agree with that speculation, they did say that the budget, from the way it was formulated and formatted, does not reflect that there has been any planning and prioritizing. According to the Chamber, much more analysis needs to be done on this budget to determine the true picture of the impact of the new taxes. In addition, that body is not optimistic that the growth projected by Barrow in the budget is realistic, asking – “Where will it come from?” The assumptions used to justify the projected growth will not hold true, if one is to judge from local and regional indicators and experiences. And from the results of an informal
survey of its members done by the Chamber, businesses across the Board are in no position to deal with these latest tax measures imposed by government. According to the results of the survey – “60% of the members who replied stated that they have had to borrow to meet recurrent expenditures over (Continued on page 35)
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Shootout in the City
Thursday, March 25, 2010 Robbers have proven over and over that they can commit crime wantonly and hardly ever be caught. This morning however, at least for one thief, he was caught both by cops and on camera as he fled the scene, leaving behind his bicycle and a red cap.
The broad daylight jacking took place at Accents Store right next door to Jal’s Travel and Tours at the old Marelco Building on North Front Street. It happened in the peak of the morning rush hour, at 10:30 when children at the nearby Holy Redeemer Primary School (Continued on page 35)
Are YOU Better Off Today?